Mark Protection Policy

A Mark is the look people come to recognise you by. Once you claim one, it is yours alone on Gradiently: only you can export designs with it, it leaves the Market, and its certificate names you as the owner.

We also protect what sits around it. Nobody may publish a Mark, a template or a profile that passes itself off as your Mark or as you.

Every new Mark is compared with all the others before it can be published or claimed, whether it was made in the Forge, by the Designer or from a picture. A Mark that is too close to one that already exists is turned away, and its maker is told which Mark it clashes with.

The check is automatic and looks at how the Mark renders, not just its settings. If it turns your Mark away and you think it got it wrong, ask us and a person will look.

We act on anything that could make a reasonable person think it is a claimed Mark, or comes from its owner, when it doesn’t. For example:

• A Mark that looks too much like a claimed Mark, including small changes of colour, material or motion made to get past the check.
• A template or published design built to be mistaken for another owner’s look.
• A profile that uses someone else’s name, username, logo or Mark to pose as them or as their brand.
• Exports of a Mark you don’t hold, passed off as your own.

Designs that are merely in a similar style, use common colours, or were made with a Mark its owner has released are not impersonation.

The date and time of every claim are in the ledger behind each certificate, so the order is a matter of record. The later Mark is the one that changes or comes down.

Priority can be set aside in two cases: when the earlier claim was made in bad faith, for example to block or copy a brand that already existed, and when someone shows rights that come from outside Gradiently, such as a registered trademark or copyright. Those are handled under the Copyright Policy.

Use the Report button on any Mark, template or profile, or contact support. You don’t have to be the owner to report. It helps to include:

• The code of your Mark (like GR·K7Q2·MX) or its certificate number.
• A link to what you are reporting.
• A short note on why it could be mistaken for yours.

You get an email when we receive your report and another when we decide. Reports made in bad faith, or to harass someone, are themselves against our rules.

A person reviews every report, usually within 5 working days. We look at both Marks side by side, at who claimed first and at how each is being used. Then we do one of the following:

• Leave it up, when the two are clearly different.
• Ask for changes, when a small change makes the difference clear.
• Take it down. A Mark leaves the Market and can no longer be used to export, a template leaves the boards, or a profile’s picture, bio and links are cleared.
• Suspend or close the account, for repeated or deliberate impersonation.

Whatever we decide, the person who reported and the person affected are both told, with the reason.

We email you what was removed, the reason, and the Mark it was too close to. If you think we got it wrong, you can argue your case:

1. Reply through support within 6 months and tell us why the decision should change. Evidence of when and how you made the Mark helps.
2. A person who did not make the first decision reviews it and answers, normally within 10 working days.
3. If we agree, the Mark is restored with its history intact.

If a Mark you paid for comes down through no fault of yours, you choose between a replacement Mark and a refund, as the Refund Policy says. Designs you already exported stay yours to use.

We can only remove things from Gradiently. A certificate is not a registered trademark and doesn’t give you rights against people on other sites. If someone copies your look elsewhere, we will confirm your ownership record to the platform or adviser you are dealing with: write to hello@gradiently.design.

If your look matters to your business, consider registering it as a trademark where you trade.